Bella Vista’s Steve Meador Wins FLW Co-Angler Title

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At last week’s FLW Tour at Beaver Lake, Bella Vista native Steve Meador took first place in the co-angler division.

“It was unbelievable,” said Meador. “I had tons of people there. The whole auditorium went crazy. I was tickled to death.”

Not only was Meador’s win last week on his home lake it was also his first victory as an FLW co-angler.

“I’ve had eleven chances,” said Meador. “Before today I had third, fifth, seventh and ninth place finishes. “I’ve stared it in the eye several times to finally get one was really special”

Steven said on average he participates in 40 tournaments per year. Only two of per year are with the FLW as a co-angler. There are many challenges of being a co-angler. The first is you fish off the back of the boat.

“We may be sitting in the middle of the lake and I have a lot of area to fish,” said Meador. “We may be close to the bank and I have to figure out how to catch a bass not only in no water, but in water we already ran the boat over and spooked the fish”

Co-anglers draw a new pro-fisher to be partnered with each day of the tournament. This is another challenge they are faced with. Not knowing your pro’s fishing style or if they are compatible with your fishing style is tough. It’s vital that you are able to adjust on the fly.

“It is what it is and you have to try and catch a bass to beat the other 159 co-anglers in the back of the boat,” said Meador.